Relau, once an agricultural area in the south-western district of Penang Island, is today a large modern residential estate. Vestiges of its past linger on though, most notably in the almost century-old Relau House. This was built by Chung Thye Phin (鄭大平), a tin mining and planting tycoon.
While lack of care and maintenance has left the manor in a dilapidated state, the structural remnants reveal the signs of the original beauty and grandeur of the house, which once stood imposingly on a small hill.
The most striking feature is the swimming pool, around which the house was built. The pool is surrounded by a series of columns resembling a Roman-style bathhouse, and its opulence and exoticism were perhaps unrivalled in Penang – and maybe even Malaya – at that time.
